In the 1960s, Anglophone human geographers appealed for the geography of aging and the aged to be established as a distinct, meaningful field. Subsequently, an increasing number of geographers became involved in this field and research in this area accumulated. After the 1980s, however, Anglophone human geographers in this field shifted their academic activities from geography to social gerontology. This paper reviews research on human geography and social gerontology, particularly environmental gerontology, and examines the reasons for the shift from geography to social gerontology. Three main reasons were extracted from this study.

First, theories and discussions from this field have been deployed mainly in social gerontology. At the outset, eminent geographers such as Graham Rowles and Sheila Peace extracted their research questions from discussions on social gerontology. There was an increase in the number of social gerontologists with a geographic focus. They developed theories and discussions independent of Anglophone human geography and have made important, sophisticated contributions to the field.

Second, social gerontology has provided a more fascinating research environment for geographers. This discipline receives considerably more research funding and includes academic posts. Most geographers in this field now receive academic posts in gerontology or related areas. Some geographers are highly reputed in social gerontology for their qualitative, nuanced research from transactional viewpoints, which were originally lacking in this field.

Third, academic geographers tended to evaluate applied research less highly than the “pure” type. Geographers interested in the field of aging and the aged have emphasized extracting implications from their research findings and contributing to the well-being of the elderly. Such intentions have remained unchanged in recent work, such as that edited by Rowles and Bernard (2013) and performed by Golant (2015).

This division must be reconciled in terms of creating age-friendly communities, as they consist of the elderly as well as other demographic groups. We must examine why geographers in this field and social gerontologists with a geographic focus are reluctant to publish their research in geography journals and why geographers do not consider the research, especially applied research, of social gerontologists seriously.

In order to characterize the seasonal indoor thermal environment in the southern part of Nepal, meteorological observations were conducted in three residential buildings with different roof types. The results are summarized as follows:

1) In the non-monsoon season, the temperature rose steeply after the sunrise and the diurnal range was greater than during the monsoon season. During the daytime on a clear day, the roof surface temperature differed according to the type of roofing material, which was confirmed to be the main cause of the indoor temperature difference. The daytime indoor temperature was the highest in rooms under a zinc-coated steel roof, and the nighttime indoor temperature was the highest in rooms under a concrete roof. These results confirmed that the indoor temperature was correlated with the thermal characteristics of the roofing material.

2) In the monsoon season, the diurnal range in temperature was small under the influence of the seasonal rainfall and high humidity. During the daytime, the indoor temperature under the zinc-coated steel roof was high, while that under a tile roof was low because of the temperature difference between the two material types. Tile roofs are porous and retain water, and therefore their heat-suppressing effects are greater than those of zinc-coated steel roofs due to water and moisture retention. Zinc-coated steel roofs are thin and do not retain water. These results were observed more clearly on mostly clear days with occasional rain. It was also apparent that rainfall had a strong influence on indoor temperature.

This paper proposes a new analytical method for sketch maps, called the “buffer centroid method.” It is an extension of the method based on the concept of buffering developed by Takai et al. (2003). In applying the buffer centroid method to sketch map analysis, we focus on spatial differences in levels of detail at which the maps are drawn. The differences can be useful to understand people’s spatial cognition from sketch maps as that is not always considered sufficiently using the method of Takai et al. (2003) alone.

In the new method, the centroid of the buffered region generated from all roads contained in a sketch map is taken into account, which moves as the buffer radius for the generation increases. The total distance of the movement of the centroid indicates the existence of spatial differences in the level of detail in a sketch map. Since the buffer centroid method indicates the existence of spatial differences in sketch maps, we can apply it to considerations of the anchor-point theory, which focuses on differences in peoples’ spatial cognition. Thus, the proposed method has the potential to contribute to research on spatial cognition.

This paper discusses the challenges of and responses by individual actors to the branding of Fukaya green onions. Green onions have been cultivated in Fukaya since the Meiji era. However, with the gradual decline of the sericulture industry from around 1960, agricultural production began focusing on cultivating vegetables, including green onions. Since 2002, the municipal administration and Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) in the city of Fukaya have actively promoted the branding of Fukaya green onions in response to fraudulent labeling of production areas.

In looking at the main branding movement, the JA was at the center, and while it tried to achieve regional branding, it faced a tough struggle because the Fukaya green onion was already established in production and distribution chains. Moreover, opinion is divided on branding even in markets that have dealt with the Fukaya green onion from the beginning. This can be traced to the fact that green onions cultivated in the entire area around Fukaya are called Fukaya green onions despite differences in their quality owing to variations in the conditions of the cultivation areas. Some producers have also begun to attempt industrialization by utilizing the characteristics of suburban agriculture to brand general green onions. In displaying their names as producers on vegetables, including Fukaya green onions, there is a growing awareness of the responsibility to provide high-quality vegetables by utilizing the suburban areas of large cities. More producers are also aiming at privatized branding of vegetables, motivated by their own sales figures. The administrative role is to use Fukaya green onions as an opportunity for further promoting their activities to expand the market for other suburban vegetables. JA Fukaya must develop sales strategies not only for green onions but also for other suburban vegetables.

The cultivation area for Fukaya green onions is continuing to expand with mergers between municipalities and JA. This has brought attention to how the differences in the soil to the north and south of the city of Fukaya affect the quality of green onions. In the process, it has become apparent that temperature differences among production areas affect quality. The branding of Fukaya green onions is problematic since they are grown in areas of differing terrain. The current situation is that the branding of Fukaya green onions is leaning toward local branding by the government and some local markets, aiming at regional development and personal branding by commercial farmers who undertake year-round cultivation and shipments outside JA.

Suwanose Island was once uninhabited for 70 years due to a volcanic eruption in 1813. Recently, the island population has gradually increased to 70–80 under the policy of promoting immigration with agricultural activities. It is significant to obtain information regarding the soil properties of this island in relation to agricultural land use. In this study, we carried out a soil survey on cultivated land, grazing land, bamboo forests, and outcrops on the island. Soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), NH₄–N and NO₃–N contents, exchangeable K content, cation exchange capacity (CEC), humus content, phosphate absorption coefficient, and particle size distribution were examined to evaluate soil fertility and to classify soil type.

The soils of agricultural areas on Suwanose Island were mainly classified as “tephric Regosols” and partly as “vitric (immature) Andosols,” and the buried soils beneath the 1813 volcanic eruption deposits were “vitric Andosols” according to the Comprehensive Soil Classification System of Japan, First Approximation. The chemical properties of the soils studied had weak-neutral pH and low phosphate retention, which indicated a positive capability for agricultural land use, although the formation of typical Andosols will be difficult as long as the intermittent ash fall continues due to the current activity of the Otake volcano. The analytical results suggested that soil amendments such as green manure supply, as currently practiced to a limited extent in a mandarin orange orchard, may improve soil fertility. The buried soils with a formation age estimated at 200–600 years ago, had a relatively high CEC and high clay content. The utilization of the buried soils by land grading was suggested as a countermeasure to expand the agricultural area on Suwanose Island.